


Scarlet Nightmares

by Metriosity



Category: The Bold Type
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombies, F/F, Survival Horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2019-04-30 09:47:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14494272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metriosity/pseuds/Metriosity
Summary: AU: What if the dead had begun to walk, hungering for fresh meat before Kat Edison and Adena El-Amin had met?Fate will always find a way.





	1. It begins.

**Author's Note:**

> Multi Chapter: On going.

Creeping silently along the deserted subway station platform, Kat Edison allowed herself a brief moment to remember the night she and her friends had screamed their frustrations into the stale air thrown up by an oncoming train. She wanted to scream now, however silence would keep her alive and that was far more appealing than a fleeting vent session. 

Night had fallen less than an hour ago and she chastised herself for leaving it to the last moments of daylight to search out shelter. It had been a long day filled with distractions but, blessedly, no dead. 

She had always been impulsive and quick to act, even if it was to her detriment. But in this new world she knew, she had to be more cautious. 

The station was devoid of all sound. Even the rats that used to scratch and scurry along the tracks had abandoned this place long ago. Damp and mildew lined the walls, forming a musty smelling tapestry in the darkened tunnel and she wrinkled her nose at the dank aroma.

The space was lit by the faint light of a flashlight she had covered in wax paper to soften the light. By the layer of silt, trash and foliage, Kat knew this must have been one of the stations intentionally flooded in the months following the outbreak. Both ends of the tunnel had caved in, leaving the entrance she had come through as the only means of entry and exit. A blessing and a curse. 

The military had broken through the walls separating the subway lines and the Hudson to try and stop the masses of people from using the tunnels to get off of the Island. The bridges had originally been monitored, before the National Guard abandoned the city entirely. Now, whoever was left was on their own. There were no more food drops, no more aid stations. It was survival at all costs or join the ranks of the rotting. 

Straining her ears she listened for any hint of company, living or dead, but nothing caught her attention. It took a few minutes of standing in the silence, before she felt comfortable setting her pack down in a secluded corner behind a security booth and taking a deep breath. Regretting it instantly as the mildew smell hit her in the throat like a wet rag being thrust in her mouth. After another cautious look around she slid down into the dirt, feeling grateful to rest her legs and more importantly her mind. 

It had been eight months since the outbreak. Like all the movies she had ever watched, all the TV shows she had rolled her eyes at, no one knew how it started. It had just happened one day. Their happy, cliché filled lives, suddenly turned upside down. One of her best friends, Jane, had died almost instantly. She was careless and naïve, walking into a crowd of milling corpses thinking it was a publicity stunt in the park. Kat had been further back, filming on her cell phone to send out the footage on Scarlet’s social media accounts. The phone lay in her pack now, the battery long since dead. But the feeling of a fist tightening around her heart reminded her of the images contained within. At first, she thought Jane had been humoring the group. Playing along for the sake of Kat’s entertainment. But as Jane stumbled out of the throng, clutching her throat, Kat had realized all too late that this was no game. Jane fell to the grass 20 feet ahead of her. 

Tears began to well in her eyes as she remembered the powerless feeling. She had instinctively run towards Jane’s twitching form, but the group had begun to make its way towards her. “Get up Jane! Get up!” She remembered screaming, begging for her friend to move. It had only taken a moment to get to where Jane lay but Kat knew instantly her friend was gone. Blood gurgled out in ever slowing pulses from a wound where Jane’s throat used to be. Her eyes rolled back into her head, leaving an expression of terror on her once happy face. 

“I will fucking end you!” Kat had bellowed, rage filled, at the mob. She was determined to take in every single feature of these murderers to give to the police. However the closer they got and the more details she took in, the more she realized this wasn’t some stunt. She could see through some of these people. Gaping holes where flesh should be, torn through and showing the world beyond. 

She began to edge backward. Fear replacing rage as the gravity of the situation sank in. Before she knew it she was running. Tears streaming down her face as she struggled to reconcile with leaving Jane back there. Her last view was the group descending on Jane’s body while others began to shamble from the hedge rows towards her. This couldn’t be real. This was the sort of shit you saw in a B movie, not real life.

It wasn’t until she was several blocks away that she realized no one here seemed to be running. No one was acting any different. If anything, they were staring at her. She caught a glimpse of herself in a storefront window and realized she looked a wreck. Eyes wide, flooded with tears. Her skirt covered in dirt from the rush to Jane’s body. Her mind couldn’t focus on what course to take. Does she start screaming about dead people eating people in the park? Does she go to the Cops? Nothing had prepared her for this. 

Her first instinct after a moment to catch her breath, was to check social media. If the end of the world was happening, Twitter would know. Pressing the app, she had hoped for some instant news but all she was rewarded with was an error notification. Looking around the street, it seemed people were having similar issues. Frustrated faces waving their phones around, smashing their fingers in annoyance onto apps refusing to cooperate. She still had signal however, maybe she could get in contact with Sutton for some answers. Sutton, another of her best friends, had gone away for the weekend with her mysterious sex buddy and while it was an endless source of frustration that she wouldn’t reveal who he was, it might actually pay off for Kat as Sutton wasn’t in the city. 

“Call Sutton” Kat shakily spoke into the mic of her phone. Jamming the phone to her ear Kat waited an eternity before the call was finally answered. 

“Not a good time Kat.” Sutton sounded relaxed, which was a relief to Kat. If Sutton was calm, then whatever this was, hadn’t reached wherever Sutton was. 

“Jane. I cant… I don’t… Fucking hell Sutton!!!“ Kat was beginning to panic again. She could feel her heart rising into her throat and her pulse throbbing so hard her ears were pounding. 

“Whoa, Kat, calm down. What about Jane?” Sutton was beginning to sound anxious but Kat couldn’t find the words. She started to stammer, incoherent syllables. Not forming any real words. “Kat. Breathe. What’s going on? … Shh, something’s wrong with Jane. Give me a minute.” Kat could hear the muffled sounds of a man in the background but could tell Sutton’s attention was completely on her. 

“She’s dead… I mean, they ate her Sutton. They fucking ate her!” Kat’s voice had risen an octave or two and people around her were beginning to stop staring at their useless phones and stare at her instead. “The park. People. Dead people! We thought. God I don’t know Sutton. But she’s dead. I ran. I left her. I fucking left her!!!” The salty sting of tears had started again, flowing easily down her cheeks as she began to hyperventilate. 

“Kat, you aren’t making any sense. If this is a joke, it’s messed up…” Sutton sounded unsure but at the same time, frustrated.

“I’m NOT Joking! This isn’t a fucking joke Sutton. THEY ATE HER!” She had begun to sob. Gasping sounds punctuated every word. 

“I’m coming home. I swear to god though if this is a …” The line went dead. 

“Sutton? SUTTON?!” Kat hit redial immediately but was met with a message of “The caller you are trying to reach is outside of the calling area.” Kat’s mind went into a freefall. Standing in the middle of a busy street, surrounded by people all looking at her, she couldn’t get her mind to focus. It was then the screaming started…. 

In the dark of the subway station platform, Kat screwed her eyes shut tight and fought back the wave of grief as she thought of Jane and Sutton. That wouldn’t help now. She had to focus on the present. Not the past. And the present was her, alone, in the dark. Filthy and cold, her life was no longer socializing and fashion. Her life was a commodity the dead hungered for. And she wouldn’t be giving that up any time soon. They had taken enough.


	2. In the dead of night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kat dreams of the past, while the present sneaks up on her.

She didn’t remember falling asleep. Kat never did these days. She would either spend the night begging for sleep to come, or it would steal her away with no warning as the exhaustion won out. Her dreams were filled with the tortured groans of the dead, visions of flesh being torn away from bone and the constant never ending feeling of fear. She couldn’t escape it, even in her dreams and in some ways she was thankful for it. As long as she was afraid she was alert and that could be the difference between a quiet night in a subway station or having your skin ripped from your body by festering mouths hungering for more. 

Now, as she relived watching a crowd of people run towards her in panic as the dead made their way up the busy street, she felt an odd moment of calm. This dream she had seen before. She had lived it before. It never varied. Like a gif, repeating over and over, she knew exactly how it would end. She would fall behind a newspaper stand as the throng of people crash towards her. The sound of screaming would deafen her and eventually shake her from her daze, sending her running. Her apartment was so close. She could see the plant she never watered, struggling for life in the window. But the crowd was so thick she couldn’t make headway. People didn’t know which way to run, they didn’t know what was happening beyond the sea of people crushing them against store windows and into taxi windshields. 

Eventually she would find her way into her apartment and lock the door. Push the bookshelf in front of it and rush to the window. She would look down and see the street filled with people, the living and the dead, crushed together in a scene reminiscent of a protest. Her fingers gripped the windowsill, stripping the paint with her nails as the fear tightened in her chest. There were sirens in the distance. It gave her a moment of hope, the police would contain this. Everything would return to normal soon. She stared in horror as she watched a young woman fighting off a man far larger than her. She clawed at his face, tearing deep gouges in his cheeks, but still he savagely gnashed his teeth towards her exposed shoulder. Kat found herself willing the woman to fight him off, to run, get away. But as his bloodied mouth met the womans skin. Kat felt bile rise in her throat. Vomit burned at her mouth as he ripped his head back, taking a large portion of the girls shoulder with it. Blood spewed everywhere, scarlet and glistening. It showered the man, but he noticed it no more than as if it were thin air. The woman began to flail, panic in her eyes, but her movements slowed as the open wound drained the life from her. 

Kat stared, numbness filling her body, unable to look away as the man dropped the woman to the ground and descended on her. More joined him in feasting on the now limp woman. It was happening all through the street. People would fall and within minutes, they would begin to rise again. Torn and bloodied, they would begin to hunt. Hunger in their dead faces. Kat scanned the crowd but stopped as she locked eyes with one of the dead things. It stared up at her, it’s teeth grinding behind lips that had been torn away, now hanging like shreds against pallid grey skin. 

A low, guttural moan came from its throat as it started to limp towards her building. Others turned their heads, following the call of this beast as it began to hunt its prey. The tide turned and began to wash against the walls of her apartment building. She was on the seventh floor, she had to be safe here she told herself. But as the crowd of dead began to outnumber the living, the strength of this mass terrified her to her core. The leader of this pack never took his eyes from her as he pushed his way across the street. Kat could swear there was malice in his eyes. 

There was a crash and the squeal of wood splintering as the door to the building gave way under the pressure. And then, as always, Kat Edison woke up. 

Sweat drenched her body, even in the chill of the abandoned tunnel. The shaking always followed. It took her a moment to regain a sense of her surroundings but in that second, she could tell the atmosphere had changed. It was almost imperceptible but there was a rasping sound coming from the top of the stairs, it was some way off, but it was clear. If she didn’t know better she would think it was a whisper of wind. However Kat did know better. It was the sound of a corpse, without purpose, shuffling around upstairs. It hadn’t discovered her yet and if she was lucky, it would keep walking, leaving her an avenue to get out. 

Down here, she had no idea what time of day it was and she dared not turn on the flashlight to check her watch. She had two choices. Break cover and risk the street, or stay put and hope it passed her by without incident. Either way, sleep was out of the question now. Every fiber of her body was alert now. Living up to her name sake, she hunched down, silently, pulling the hunting knife from her hip, she watched and listened. 

It was getting closer. If she was lucky, it would misjudge the stairs and fall into a heap at the bottom, wrecked and helpless. She could finish it off silently and make a plan from there. 

It was at the top of the stairs now. The shuffle of it’s feet sounding a hundred times louder in the eerie silence of the subway. Kat inched toward the edge of the security booth she was hidden behind, just enough to see the stairway clearly. It must have been almost dawn, there was a pale light from the subway street entrance illuminating his outline. She could see it’s feet. One of them, dragging at an angle suggesting a massive fracture. But as she thought of that, Kat realized that really was the least of his problems. 

Suddenly he was falling. Tumbling at speed down the stairs. Several times he bounced, missing portions of the steps and landing heavily before freefalling harder. He landed with a thud, in a twisted mass at the bottom of the stairs. He had begun to groan, softly at first but louder. If Kat didn’t silence him, he would draw more to his calls. Slowly she crept forward, in a semi crouch, trying not to get his attention. His head was twisted towards the stairs, unable to see her but his hearing, like all of them, was as keen as a wolf. 

Less than five feet away now, she could smell the rotting flesh that peeled away from his bones. It had been months since it had really affected her any more, but this one was fouler than most, making her nose burn. Tightening her grip on her knife, she adjusted it in her hand to make an easier stabbing motion. Take out the brain. The movies had been right on that at least. 

Raising her hand she was about to stab forcefully down into the softened skull, when there was a soft twang sound and a long, feathered arrow found it’s mark directly between the eyes of the rotting body at Kat’s feet. She stumbled backwards, crawling like a crab, back towards her hiding spot. The dead were one thing, they were predictable. But the living, they were the real threat now. 

She scuttled back as the sound of soft footsteps crept down the stairs. Her eyes squinted in the pale light and she could just make out the slender form descending the stairs. They were hooded, bow held taught, aimed at her. The stranger was almost graceful. It reminded Kat of the hunters in fantasy shows that Jane swore blind she wasn’t interested in, but always seemed to be watching with a wistful expression. 

Kat was almost parallel with her bag now, her flashlight a finger length away. Perhaps if she shone it in their eyes it would distract them enough for her to get away. 

The bow was still aimed directly at her and would hit its target without failure if she tried anything. She was trapped. The hunter was closing ground, fixed on her unwaveringly. Her mind went blank, unable to see a way out of this without coming to harm. 

Her back was to the wall now. Terror in her eyes. “P…please… I don’t have anything. And I’m not going to try anything. Let me go. Please.” To reinforce her statement, she released her knife and pushed it aside. “Look, I’m unarmed. I’m not a threat, I swear. I like… Fuck, I can barely use this thing without puking. I’m no one.” 

Still the figure closed ground until they stood a few feet from her. Just far enough to avoid a kick should she attempt one. Slowly, they began to kneel. Not once releasing tension on the bow string. Kat refused to cry, she wouldn’t let this asshole get the satisfaction. They had won, she had begged and crawled, yet still they tried to act like a predator. This was everything she hated about people. That need to say “Mine’s bigger than yours.” 

She scowled, resigning herself to defiance. Refusing to crawl lower. “If you’re going to kill me, fucking do it already. This whole ‘I’m a ninja shit is real old.’” 

There was a laugh, a soft, husky laugh that made Kat scowl. Slowly the hunter lowered the bow. Never letting go completely, but no longer aggressive. Kat squinted, trying to make out features. The dawn light hadn’t penetrated this far along the platform, it may as well have been midnight in this corner. Tentatively she reached for her flashlight. The movement immediately put the hunter on guard. “It’s a flashlight! I swear. It would be nice to see the asshole who wants to put an arrow through me. Like, what the fuck are you, Robin Hood?” 

Another laugh. Short and amused. The bow lowered again, telling Kat the flashlight would be allowed. Slowly she crept her fingers over it and flicked the switch. Raising it in a manner so as not to alarm her would be assailant, Kat crept the beam towards their face. It passed over slender legs clad in tight, thick canvas pants. Harnesses with knives adorned both thighs. So far Kat was unsurprised. Everything about this archer screamed “I watch too many superhero shows.” Gloved fingers clutched at the bow, arrow and string, ready to draw but relaxed. It wasn’t until she reached the pinnacle of this archer that Kat was genuinely taken aback. A scarf covered the lower half of their face while a hood concealed the upper portion. All that was visible, were the most soulful, dark, mysterious and beautiful eyes Kat had ever seen. Her hunter, was a Huntress and if Kat was to be her prey, at this moment, Kat felt powerless to stop her.


	3. First Impressions

Kat stared wordlessly as the archer lowered her bow to the ground, raising her hands to say “Peace?” Kat didn’t move, unwilling to break this temporary truce. Slowly the woman reached for her scarf, lowering it to reveal the sort of face Kat could imagine leading heroic adventurers to their deaths, all the while making them feel blissfully unaware that they have been hypnotized. A siren of myth and legend was squatting on her haunches in front of Kat and without any understanding of why, she could totally see herself being led to her death, joyously, by this woman. 

“I won’t hurt you. You have my word.” Kat felt her insides twist into a knot as the woman spoke. Her accent was thick, Middle Eastern maybe, Kat couldn’t tell. But her voice was smooth and reminded Kat of luxurious melted chocolate. Warm and decadent. All she could do was stare. In her mind she was goading herself to speak, to say anything at all. But her mouth felt inadequate at the moment. Usually she was quick with words, ready with a razor tongue at a moments notice. But as this woman raised an eyebrow at the ever lengthening silence Kat felt her brain empty. 

“Ohhhkay. Mind if I sit? It’s clear up there, we should be safe here for a while.” Tentatively, as Kat continued to stare, the woman sat, crossed legged on a pile of dirt and soggy leaves. The silence stretched on into an uncomfortable eternity. Kat still pressed against the wall while the Huntress looked around in the pale light of Kat’s flashlight. Despite an air of relaxed nonchalance, Kat could tell that every one of the woman’s senses were on alert. Ready to act at a moments notice. 

Slowly Kat began to ease into a less stunned posture and slid into a position with her knee’s against her chest, arms folded around them. The woman watched her from the corner of her eye while continuing to glance around the platform. Kat sucked her lips into a thin line and fought to think of a conversation starter. This was never normally a problem, but after months of being alone and the oddness of this situation, Kat felt out of her depth. A feeling she did not appreciate nor want to linger. “So… uh… Thanks. For the…” She nodded her head towards the corpse at the foot of the stairs, arrow shaft still standing upright out of its forehead. 

The woman turned her head to look and then returned her gaze to Kat. It was confident, but warm and Kat felt the tension begin to slip away. “My pleasure. I’m sure you had it handled.” Kat was completely enthralled by this womans voice. It was sultry and smoky, while smooth and rich. “Are we sharing names? I mean I feel that two women sharing a subway platform in the dark while a dead body rots nearby would maybe share names. But I am open to other suggestions.” 

Kat admired the womans confidence, once she would have been equally liberal with conversation. But it had been so long. At least 2 months since she had spoken to anyone at all. She realized that hearing her own voice earlier was perhaps more shocking than the woman holding her at arrow point. “Kat. I’m Kat.” The words crept out, her bravado from before seeming to be all the confidence she had. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Kat.” The way the woman said her name, sent a shiver down Kat’s spine. It was as though she were caressing the word as it passed her lips. “I’m Adena.” 

“So not Robin Hood then?” Kat laughed at her quip, but instantly stopped, feeling ridiculous. 

“No, I prefer black to green. And I can’t grow a goatee no matter how hard I try.” She smiled warmly, leaning back against the security booth. Kat smiled in response, feeling more at ease by the second. “Are you hungry? I am. Maybe you’d join me for dinner?” 

Kat’s stomach growled in response. She vaguely remembered eating some crackers before entering the station, but she had no idea how long ago that had been. Adena gave a sly smile as the sound punctuated the silence. “Well, I’ll take that as a yes. It’s been a long time since I had dinner with a beautiful woman.” Her confidence was staggering. She was cocky but not in an arrogant way, it was endearing. 

“Well, it’s not 5 star, but we do have the finest décor this side of… this side of the platform.” Kat began to feel some of her old self creep out the longer she was in Adena’s company. They may have been in a moldy tunnel, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t try to be a social person again for a while. However long Adena decided to stay, Kat would make the most of the company. 

“Well then, may I tempt you with a dish of …” Adena slipped the pack from her back and opened the flap. She rummaged through, pulling out a can of something. Holding it up to her eyes in the dim light she smiled and passed it to Kat “Spaghettio’s!” she said in triumph. Kat laughed softly. Every sound was amplified in the empty space of the subway, so despite their ease into conversation, they kept their tones barely above a whisper. 

“As you have provided the entrée, the least I can do is deliver a fine beverage to cleanse the palate.” Kat reached for her bag, pulling a small bottle from the side pocket. “A bottle of the 2018 Docteur Pepper.” She did her best to lay on a French accent, making Adena chuckle. Kat found herself wanting to make that happen more, as she seemed enthralled by the way Adena’s smile made her eyes seem brighter. 

“A fine vintage.” Adena had begun building up a small pit out of the soil they were sitting on. Behind the security booth and within a mound of dirt, a small fire to warm their meal wouldn’t draw too much attention. And if it did, Kat didn’t feel nearly as vulnerable with Adena there, as she would have alone. 

Dinner was an easy, comfortable affair. They spoke about where they were from, how they had gotten here. Adena had been a photographer, in New York from Iran for an exhibition. Kat even learned that she had been scheduled to appear in Scarlet Magazine who Kat had worked for as Social Media Director before everything turned to shit. “Do you have family back home? Did you manage to contact them?” 

Adena’s smile faltered and for a moment, she seemed to be in pain. Kat wished more than anything she could take back her question and spare Adena whatever discomfort she had caused. “My family and I… We weren’t. We weren’t on speaking terms.” Adena lifted her chin in defiance. Her eyes blazed with determination and strength, making Kat glad she was seated, or her knees may give way. 

Being around this woman was insanely confusing for her. She had never met anyone so absolute and powerful. Kat had always believed herself to be a bold, modern woman. She was strong and unapologetic. She took what she wanted and didn’t look back. But in Adena’s presence, she felt vulnerable and yet oddly safe. 

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but like, why weren’t you talking?” It was an intensely personal question for someone she had only just met, but Kat was intrigued by everything about Adena, she couldn’t help but want to know more. Adena’s face set into one of steel and Kat felt this had been well practiced and used to defend herself more than once. 

“In Iran, people like me aren’t acceptable.” She pursed her lips and looked down at the small flames burning low. 

“Like you?” Kat leaned forward, burning to ask more questions but not wanting to push Adena too far. 

“Lesbians.” The word was said with pride. But it hit Kat like a punch. She suddenly understood so much more, just from that one word. Not about Adena’s sexual preferences. But about Adena’s demeanor and personality. To be a Lesbian in a country where it is illegal and can result in lashing if caught and death if caught repeatedly, meant not only being brave, but being so incredibly true to yourself that you would rather risk death than lie about who you love. 

Kat watched this woman with fierce admiration. Waiting for more of her story, if she were willing to tell it. Kat often felt oppressed, as a woman and as a woman of color in a world where both were under valued, degraded and more often than not, treated as less than their white, male counterparts. But here was a woman who not only faced that, but then had to deal with the persecution of being a lesbian in her own country and being a Muslim when she visited the US. Yet through all of that, she held her head high and made no apologies for who she was. 

“My family would not accept who I am. And I was given the choices of marrying a man, raising a family and forgetting my degenerate ways. Reassigning my gender and loving women as a man. Or my family would cut me from their lives for bringing shame to them.” She sighed and leaned back again. 

“Reassigning? That’s… ok in Iran?” Kat was enthralled. This was a world she had never really been a part of. Nor, if she was honest, had much of an interest in. She had always been a proud lover of men and hadn’t put too much thought into the world beyond that. 

“Iran has one of the highest gender reassignment rates in the world. Had. I doubt people are having much luck with hospitals now. But yes, it is preferred for people to become the opposite sex, than to love someone of the same sex.” She closed her eyes and folded her legs up towards her chest. “I was born who I was meant to be. I would not change that. Nor will I ask forgiveness for it.”

Kat was stunned. She had never heard of anything like this. “That’s… Incredible.” 

“People should have the right to be their true selves. In whatever way that they can be comfortable and happy. I know that now, that is much harder to achieve. But in a way I am glad for this. With the dead walking, trying to end our existence in their crusade to gorge and multiply, things like who I love, what my gender is, what God I pray to… They are suddenly where they ought to have been from the beginning, within me. No one else’s business or problem.” She smiled and poked at the flames “When your mailman is trying to rip your throat out with his teeth, suddenly people don’t care if I am a Lesbian, Muslim or Woman. They just care if I can help them survive. I can live with that.” 

“You really are incredible. And I am totally glad you didn’t shoot me, because this is the best conversation I have had in, probably ever.” Kat’s eyes lingered on Adena’s face, before she realized she was staring and felt her cheeks begin to burn. 

“I’m glad too. And I hope this won’t be our last conversation. I would very much like to get to know you better Kat.” There was a playfulness in her tone that both thrilled and terrified Kat. She knew the dating pool was significantly smaller now, but this wasn’t a detour she was ready to consider making. But as Adena smiled and her heart quickened, she wasn’t ready to rule it out either.


	4. Nightmares in Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kat and Adena must run...

Kat Edison couldn’t tell how long she had been running. Her legs burned from the excersion but nowhere near as much as her lungs. Every breath felt like a giant fist had tightened around her chest, squeezing with every passing minute. She dare not look back, the horde swelled from every alley and building like a flood, threatening to engulf her. There were so many dead, all pouring at her from every direction. How was this happening? Her eyes scanned ahead of her, desperate for any sign of sanctuary, however hope faded as she could see no end to the snarling, blood covered faces, hungering for her. Their skin ravaged and torn, hanging in ragged shreds from their exposed bones. She could smell them, rotting breaths closing in on her. The sound of bones grinding, teeth gnashing, pulsed in her ears. She was slowing now, her body unable to keep up with the strain. Her skin prickled as she felt the brush of clawed hands on her clothing. Closer now. So close she could almost taste the rust in her mouth from the blood filling the air. The stench of their exposed bowels pierced her nose like acid. 

Her eyes were hazy, blood struggling to pulse where she needed it. The festering faces came into focus mere feet from her, then blurred away again. Each time she focused they were inches closer. They were almost on her now. Outstretched arms clamoring for her warm skin. Sweat ran into her eyes blurring her vision completely. Salt stung at the edge of her lips as a vice grip locked around her wrist. She felt her body lurch backwards as beast like strength ripped her from her feet. More hands, closing on her. Their jagged nails tearing into her skin, through her clothes like it were paper. Teeth found her. Burying themselves into her collarbone and ripping harshly. She could feel more taking purchase of any exposed area they could latch on to. 

She screamed, but her voice was lost in the growling tumult around her. Her anguish more fuel for the crushing sea of dead all aching to taste her. Screaming with her last breaths she did all she could to struggle, knowing it was pointless. She was fading. One last, guttural screech erupted from her…

“Kat, Kat, wake up!” Adena’s voice was a soft whisper, concern filling every facet of her husky accented tones. Kat’s eyes shot open, her body writhing in anguish and panic on the floor of the subway platform. “Kat, please, it was a dream. You have to stop screaming!” Adena, while remaining calm, allowed a tint of urgency to seep into her tone. It was enough to bring Kat to a jarring reality. She sat up abruptly. Adena’s hands resting on her shoulders to keep her steady. Tears ran down her cheeks as she realized she was alive, not torn to shreds under the clawing hands of the dead masses. She couldn’t tell in those few seconds whether her tears were joy or sorrow that it wasn’t all just over with. As she began to shake, Adena wrapped her in a strong, confident embrace. Holding her firmly against her chest, while whispering muffled shushes into Kat’s hair. As her shaking began to subside, Kat became aware of a tension in Adena’s embrace, pulling away slightly she could see the woman peering intently into the darkness. Her attention focused on the stairway into the main station. 

“I’m sorry, I…” Kat whispered, now keenly aware of the volume enhancing qualities of the space. 

Adena turned back to her, eyes warm, no hint of anger or worry “Kat, you have nothing to apologize for. But we have to move. If we don’t get to the main station soon, we will have no way to get out.” She smiled softly “That is, if you don’t mind some company? I would very much like both of us to get out of here before the crowd that just broke the North entrance get’s this far.” 

Kat was fully alert now, her ears straining for any warning indicators that the pack was closer than comfort would allow. Grabbing her pack, she was on her feet instantly, any last vestiges of sleep dropping from her like snow shaken from a branch. Adena had her own pack fastened and bow in hand in what appeared to Kat to be one fluid movement. She moved like a predator, with concise movements, storing energy to release on the hunt. Silently, they slipped towards the foot of the stairs. Kat brining her knife up and into a strike position. The sound of feet sliding over concrete, the low groan of air passing through exposed lungs and the grinding of enamel on enamel echoed down the stairwell. It was still some distance away, perhaps they were trapped by the ticket barriers. Adena crept up the stairs, holding her hand up for Kat to stay put. Kat wasn’t happy with the idea of Adena heading up alone and furrowed her brows taking a step forward. Adena pursed her lips and pressed a hand to Kat’s shoulder. The pressure of her hand, the insistence of her look and the anticipation of the task ahead of them rooted Kat to the spot, though she couldn’t understand why. Adena nodded softly, a thanks for Kat’s cooperation and crept further up the stairs, slowly and silently as though she were made of the darkness around her. 

She reached the top, crouching low to peer around the corner leading towards the sound, while not turning her back against the opposite direction. Kat could see her squinting into the darkness before turning to her briefly. She beckoned Kat towards the opposite side of the stairwell and to remain low. The former Social Media guru felt nowhere near as graceful as Adena looked as she had ascended the stairs. As she reached the last few steps, she slipped on something slick. Her balance shifted uncomfortably before a hand gripped her wrist, pulling her back from the brink of falling back down to the platform below. 

Adena rolled her eyes almost playfully as she guided Kat to the wall leading to the South exit. Their faces close enough to feel the warmth of each others’ skin, Adena guided them both into a crouch. “They are pushing through the ticket barrier. We need to head out now before they get through. Stay close.” 

Kat nodded breathlessly. She had enjoyed the sensation of Adena being so close. A gently squeeze of her shoulder indicated that Adena was ready to go, staying low they crept around the corner and out into the main station. A maze of corridors and tunnels let to other platforms but Adena had decided their destination was clearly the main street exit. Their steps were slow and deliberate, each one moving them away from the throng of dead pressing their way in from the other side. Adena led them in a zigzag pattern, from cover to cover. Not wanting to make themselves any more visible than they had to. A loud, creaking groan tore through the relative silence, followed by the screech of metal tearing from metal as the relentless swell of Dead tore the ticket barriers from their mountings and pressed forward. Kat could feel the tension quicken in Adena. Every muscle in her body was prepared for action. Kat just hoped that action involved taking her with her. The thought of Adena making a run for it, leaving her behind, made Kat feel a fear that exceeded that of the festering herd making it’s way into the main station. She didn’t want to be alone. She was a social being. Alone didn’t work for her. 

Adena looked back at Kat, then nodded her head to the doors ahead of them. Broken pallets blocked one section, while several crates littered the rest of the entryway. It looked to Kat as if a rough barricade had been erected but even she could tell that it would never have restrained any kind of real assault. They would be able to make it through, however they wouldn’t manage it quietly. 

The shambling mass was pushing it’s way towards them now. Some splitting down the stairwell they had ascended, others losing focus and spreading out into the other platform entryways. A large portion however were moving their way, sniffing the air like wolves, catching the scent of prey. 

Breaking cover, they made for the doorway. Neither of the huge bronze and glass doors had remained intact over the recent months. One lay buckled in the street, its glass covering the ground beneath it’s tarnished frame like diamonds. The other hung lopsided in the doorway, its glass panels had not shattered so finely, leaving razor sharp shards protruding through the art deco bronze work. The sudden movement of their flight toward the door caught the attention of a woman, whose arm hung loosely at her side. Her wrist hung precariously from a ragged collection of exposed tendons. She wore a Mets jersey which was almost unrecognizable beneath the blood, dirt and what Kat told herself was mustard, as she dare not ponder on where copious amounts of yellow slime had come from. 

One soulless eye stared in Kats direction, the other was completely absent from what Kat could tell, would once have been a delicate yet striking face. The woman began to turn in to face Kat head on. Prompting Kat to whisper hoarsely “Hurry.” 

With the attention of even one of the dead, Kat and Adena both knew that it would be moments before all followed. Caution was moot at this point. They needed to get out into the street and head for higher ground. Tugging the crates away they could hear a deep, soul wrenching groan from the herd at their backs. “Faster!” Kat urged as they could hear the groan echo throughout the station. Teeth gnashed and joints scraped more urgently, desperate for fresh meat. With enough debris cleared to hurdle into the street, Adena climbed over and reached for Kat. They clasped hands as Adena lifted Kat over with her into the main street beyond. A quick glance around told them there was very little safe cover in the immediate area, but Adena seemed not phased in the least. Keeping hold of Kat’s hand, while clutching her bow and a single arrow in the other, she took off towards the river. 

The crash behind them told the pair that the weak barricade had broken almost instantly under the weight of the now active horde. Their screeches and moans would call more of their brethren from every alley and building for blocks around. Kat gritted her teeth as they began to sprint. Her legs beginning to burn from the excersion, but nowhere near as much as her lungs. Every breath began to feel like a giant fist was tightening around her chest, squeezing with every passing minute. As they sprinted on, she realized her nightmare was playing out exactly as she remembered. Only this time, Adena led her. Hands clasped together, Kat was not alone.


End file.
